It’s a new year and a new breakfast team for Adelaide’s Nova 919. Turning the mics on for 2023 – after a surprise pop up show – are Jodie Oddy and sports journalist Andrew Hayes for the Jodie & Hayesy show.
The team are wasting no time getting out and about to meet their listeners. Over the next couple of months, Jodie & Hayesy will be taking their show on the road with “Brekky in the Burbs”, broadcasting from locations all over Adelaide every Friday and meeting as many listeners as they can.
Their first outside broadcast kicks off February 3rd in South Plympton.
Mediaweek caught up with Oddy and Hayes ahead of their time on the road to speak about launching the show, following on from Ben & Liam, and what makes the Adelaide market stand out.
Oddy and Hayes
Now into their fourth week on air, broadcasting together has come naturally – in fact, the pair agree that “It doesn’t feel like work.”
Oddy: “We’re doing a lot of laughing on air, but also a lot of laughing off air which is really important for the vibe of the show. It is a fun show, and we want people to get that sense of fun – that’s our priority. When you’re doing brekkie radio, if you’re having a good time then that comes through the speakers.”
Hayes: “We’re pretty lucky that Ben [Latimer] has assembled such a great team. He’s really gone out to different parts of the country and selected everybody – he’s recruited a bunch of people as well.
“I’ve said a couple of times, I kind of feel guilty because I’m having so much fun, and I’d probably do this for free! (laughs).”
Oddy: “Because I’m working with mates, people who are genuine friends, I can’t wait to get to work in the morning. The seven o’clock start helps too, because no one’s tired and crabby!”
The seven o’clock start is due to the fact that the 6am-7am hour is taken up with previous Adelaide breakfast hosts Ben, Liam, and Belle running the best of their Melbourne show – occasionally with some bespoke Adelaide content.
For Oddy and Hayes, continuing on where Ben and Liam left off was an important part of what they wanted to do.
Oddy: “There’s a really nice synergy between both teams, I have got all the time in the world for Ben, Liam, and Belle. I’ve worked with them every Friday for the last couple of years, they’re good humans – and they’ve created a fantastic culture in this building.
“When we took on this job that was a real focus of ours, to maintain that legacy. They’ve got a real no dickheads policy at Nova, which is awesome. We take that responsibility to set the tone in the building really, really seriously.”
Hayes: “Everyone talks, and in a small market like Adelaide you know where there are issues, you know where there’s maybe some trouble behind the scenes, and Nova has always had this reputation for being a great place to work – hence why all the salespeople have been here forever. It was really nice to hear that Ben and Liam were as loved off air as they were on it.”
One thing that’s for certain with any radio show, once the mics are switched on the audience will be there to give their thoughts – for better or for worse. For Oddy and Hayes, the response from the audience has been overwhelmingly positive.
Hayes: “The response has been good. We’ve been a little bit surprised, to be honest.”
Oddy: “We always knew that Ben, Liam, and Belle had a massive fan base, and with any new show there’s always going to be blowback. We were pretty prepared for that, but the response on the phones has been incredible. Everyone’s really been getting around it.”
Hayes: “The calls are organic as well, we’re lucky in that Ben and Liam built up such a lovely audience.”
View this post on Instagram
When asked what they want people to think when they think of the Jodie & Hayesy show, the pair say that the answer is simple: they want them to have fun.
Hayes: “When I listen to radio, and particularly FM metro radio, I want a team that sounds fun, that’s not arrogant, someone you can easily listen to and feel good. That’s why I listen to radio, and that’s why I used to listen to radio as a kid. It’s not to hear really heavy stories or anything like that – it’s to put me in a good mood before I get to where I’m going.”
Oddy: “The beauty of this show is that it was built on a platform of ‘who do you get along with? Who do you have chemistry with? Who do you like to be around?’ – as opposed to taking High Profile Person A and High Profile Person B then putting them together and hoping that it works.
“Breakfast radio is so simple. Get two people in a room who genuinely get along, have a good time, and make each other laugh. Get some good, fun content – job done.”
The Jodie & Hayesy show has certainly nailed the ‘get two people in a room who genuinely get along’ part of the formula, with one member of the team wasting absolutely no time in jumping on board.
Hayes: “So when Ben Latimer came to me he said, ‘look Hayesy, I want you to be on Nova, who would you like to work with…?’ (laughs). No, that’s not what happened at all!”
Oddy: “It was actually really, really exciting for me because Hayesy was on SEN. I knew that this had been his dream for a very long time, so I went to him and said, ‘are you up for it?’ His genuine excitement at taking this job has been a really nice thing to watch.
“They offered us our contracts, my husband is acting as my manager so he went through it with a fine-toothed comb. He was like, ‘okay, we just need to work out this thing and make sure that’s right, blah blah blah’. I called Hayesy, and I said ‘there are a few things Greg wants to drill down on,’ and he goes, ‘I’m already locked in!’ (laughs).
“I said what do you mean, it has been less than 24 hours? That is not a negotiation, mate!”
The Adelaide market is a unique one. The pair say that whilst the city can be quite insular, it is also very devoted to the shows it enjoys.
Oddy: “Adelaide people are fiercely parochial and fiercely passionate. Adelaide audiences turn up. I feel like that’s the same with radio, if they’re going to back you in, they will back you in hard, and I think that’s what makes it unique.”
Hayes: “The main reason I’ve noticed that is the people who have said to us, ‘I listen to Nova now because of Jodie, I was a Mix fan and then she left, and now we’re on board with Nova because of Jodie’. They’re unbelievably loyal.”